


Breaking News

by KarmotrineDream



Series: Nine Legacies [2]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Coming Out, Day 3: Pride Week, F/F, Internalized Homophobia, POV Third Person Omniscient, Prelude, Rare Ships Week, Unspoken Love, Wangari smooches ALOT of girls, pride week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarmotrineDream/pseuds/KarmotrineDream
Summary: Wangari's been having... feelings. She's been having them for a long while, ever since she first came to Luna Nova, but she's been in denial for various reasons. Finally, and coincidentally, on the first day of pride week, she can't take it anymore, and opens up to her teammates. Luckily for her, it was for the best!
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill/Barbara Parker, Wangari/Kimberly
Series: Nine Legacies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943356
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Breaking News

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Karmotrine Dream Here!
> 
> This is a prelude/spin off fic to my main project: Nine Legacies, a series that tries to greatly expand the LWA universe and lore while also taking a much more serious tone. I'm writing the characters in this as I try to write them in said series, which is, so far, near the end of it's first part, titled "Nine Legacies: The Balefire Rekindled." The events in this fic will serve as a bit of a springboard for Wangari's development in later Nine Legacies titles, and also, for keen readers, will mention events that took place in the past that were mentioned in Balefire. 
> 
> This is my submission for rare ships week! Day 3: Pride, to be specific, and is my first attempt at a more casual fic. That said, I just had to link it to Nine Legacies, because I have a terrible problem of complicating everything for weal or woe. Hopefully it's the better, and TBH, I do think that is the case!
> 
> Without any further preamble: Enjoy!
> 
> My tumblr: https://karmotrinedreams91.tumblr.com/ (I post chapter updates there! As well as inspiration!)
> 
> My Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarmotrineDrea1 (Same deal!)
> 
> Rare Ships week tumblr: https://rare--lwa--ships--week.tumblr.com/ (Their the ones who got me writing this fic! So thank them, and check it out for more great rare ships content!)

“So let me get this straight,” Despite her verbiage, Kimberly wouldn’t say there was anything  _ straight _ about this conversation. “You have a crush on Akko. Atsuko Kagari.” She was sat plainly, firmly, in a chair by the wooden desk of Yellow Team’s dorm room with one leg cross over the other. 

Wangari sat with her face in the pillow of her solo bed on the right side of the room. Her hair, typically styled to the point of uncanny stiffness and shape, was uncharacteristically curly; the natural shape of her hair. It reached down to about her shoulder height, covering her entire head from the back and side as the rest of her remained buried hopelessly in the pillow. She clutched it weakly, as if having given up. 

Her silence spoke volumes that Joanna couldn’t ignore. “Seriously!?” Joanna was astonished, in a good sort of way. Her mouth was wide and agape, one hand on either cheek, as she stood with her back against the closed door to the dormitory. “O mój boże!” She exclaimed in Polish upon Wangari’s muffled sigh. “That’s… oh wow that’s… what are we going to do about that!?” Joanna was… happy? She was certainly  _ excited _ , but maybe that was just her “scoop senses” acting up, even if the Luna Nova News Network had moved past gossip columns two years following their formation when Yellow Team were all “freshman,” to use common parlance. 

“I dunno. It’s Gari’s crush.” Kim shrugged her shoulders while nonchalantly reaching for her trusty pen and pad. This was the eighth one she’d gone through this month, and June had been a pretty slow time for journalism students such as themselves. The only student to even come close to matching Kimberly’s paper usage was Constanze, for likely obvious reasons. “Though this is actually really helpful.” 

Wangari dredged her head metaphorically out of the miasmal bog of identity panic, and more literally out of her pillow. “Just how the heck is my crisis helpful!?” 

“Proving my not-a-thesis thesis.” Kimberly chuckled, flourished a little swipe on her pad, and then showed it off. “Based on all of the data we’ve aggregated over the past three years, I can say for sure that at least sixty percent of this school’s population isn’t straight, and based on the interviews I did with Pisces and Lukic, it’s always been like this.” Joanna and Wangari both stupidly looked at the slightly mess of listed names, all arranged in pairings of two, three, and one pairing of four, along with several pie graphs all in various colors of the rainbow. “Boom: Verifiable proof. All women boarding schools are gay.” 

“Uuuuugghhh!” Wangari slumped back into the quagmire of internal, questionably-straight panic, and into the Wangari shaped imprint in the pillow. “You’re not helping!” She muffledly yelled back.

“S-Seriously Kim! This is a big deal!” Joanna threw her hands firmly down by her sides, only to knock her square shaped glasses loose from her face, forcing her to awkwardly readjust them before summoning up her most serious face possible. That was easier said than done given Joanna was just about ready to Wangari over such news. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that Wangari seemed  _ far _ more troubled by it than either Joanna or Komberly would have expected. “We gotta help her navigate this!” 

Kim sighed, setting aside before she crossed her arms. “Alright, alright, take it easy. I get it’s serious, but I’m kinda lost as to why you’re having a breakdown here, Wangari.” After all, if her statistics were to be believed, they were surrounded by non straight persons! Kim herself had even introduced herself as someone who was “into guys and girls,” when the three first met, and Wangari seemed just chipper about it, if a little surprised and confused. 

“I’m not having a wakedown!” Countered Wangari.

Kimberly blinked twice. “A… wakedown…?” 

“A breakdown!” Wangari lifted her head up from the pillow to clear her voice. Her cheeks were as flush as could be, and there was a mixture of things that disquieted the other two reporting witches: Longing, frustration, and worst of all,  _ fear _ . “I’m  _ not _ having a breakdown!” Though the twitching of her body and tone of voice she had said otherwise.

“Well, at least tell us why you’re upset!” Urged Joanna. “We need to know if we’re going to help you!” 

Kim leaned forward in her seat. “Yeah. Having a crush isn’t really much of a big deal. This is basically high school. That stuff happens.”

Wangari nervously whined, slumping back into the bed with her head tilted sidelong to face her two friends. “It’s not just  _ a _ crush….”

“Is it because it’s  _ Akko _ ?” Joanna didn’t even want to  _ imagine _ what Diana might do if someone insinuated they were into her girlfriend of nearly two years. She’d heard through the grapevine by way of the polyculed Amanda, Barbara, and Hannah that the Cavendish heir was quite protective of her performatively minded partner. 

“N-No!” Wangari shook her head thrice. “It’s… it’s because it’s Diana too!” That got Kim’s eyes to widen alongside Joanna’s. “A-And Lotte! And Amanda, Barbara…. Ahhh!” Back into the pillow she went, kicking the bed in a faux sort of tantrum since she had nowhere else to channel all of this frustration. 

“Wow….” Kim thoughtfully rubbed her chin. “And… how long has it been like this?”

Wangari sighed. “It feels like I’ve had these feelings ever since I got here!” She rolled onto her back, finally forsaking the pillow entirely in favor of staring at the ceiling, her arms and legs splayed out on the bed. 

“All at once!?” Asked Joanna, feeling her own heart skip a beat. 

“No….” Wangari put one hand over her face, blowing a defeated bit of air through the gaps between her fingers. “First it was Lotte, and then Amanda, and then Bice, Hristina, and….” Wangari bit here tongue. There was one name which yet remained untold on that list of heart-throbbing crushes; one who inhabited the very room they now spoke in. One whose “short lived crush” was one that never actually ended. “I don’t know for how long or when I had them….” She lied, convincingly so. “But I need to know what to do about it now, because I can’t take it anymore!”

“In a good way or a bad way?” 

“You’re not helping, Kim!” Wangari pouted. 

“What? I was being serious.” Kim threw her arms up in a shrug. “You know me: I don’t play little games like this. Just go tell Akko and Amanda, or whatever, that you’re crushing on them. They’ll get it. Hell, Amanda will probably just laugh it off and say a stupid one liner about how she’s ‘still got it,’ despite being  _ in a relationship _ .” Kimberly paused, quirking her head to the side. “I mean, if Amanda comes back to visit anytime soon.” She had been expelled about half way through their second year for a certain accident that ended in Finnelan’s office being destroyed. Ever since, Amanda has lived as a sort of witchy vagabond, a wand for hire, a transient who, in her own words, “solves other peoples’ problems by kicking ass from here to Beijing!” Though you couldn’t pay her to visit Luxembourg again; it’s a  _ long _ story. 

“No way!” Retorted Joanna. “You can’t just go up to someone who’s in a relationship and say you’re crushing on them!”

“Yeah there’s  _ no way _ I’m doing that!” Agreed Wangari a little hopelessly.

“Why not?” 

“Wha—!?” Wangari sat up sharply and gave Kim the most bewildered look. “What do you mean ‘why not!?’ Isn’t it obvious!?”    
  


“Yeeeeeesss?” Kim tilted her head from left to right quizzically. “But also no.” 

“I don’t wanna be rude, Kim, but Wangari’s kinda right when she was saying you were being unhelpful….” When the trio clashed, it was usually Kim and Wangari who butted heads, but never in a very terrible way. That left Joanna to keep the peace and find the best path forward, though said path hadn’t revealed itself yet.

Kimberly sighed, holding her leaned head up with one bent arm resting on against the desk beside her. “Two things:” She held up her free hand, raising one finger for each of her points. “First, why do you think you have a crush on all of those girls. Second, why is it causing you all of this stress?” Kimberly, to her credit, was still pretty good at centering Joanna and Wangari. In the latter’s case, that rarely needed to happen given how down to earth and level headed the Kenyan witch usually was. 

That left said witch, Wangari, with nothing to do but answer. It wasn’t easy, but she also wasn’t about to be difficult when she’d already divulged the “hard part” of this secret of hers. “I’m being one hundred percent honest when I say I don’t really know. I feel like…. God, sometimes I just look at the girls in the school and…. Ugh! It’s like I get lost in my own thoughts!” 

Joanna thoughtfully leaned her head against her left index finger, smushing her cheek. “Is… that why you got all flustered and confused during the election report we did back in winter?” Oliver Blackwell, hard faced and ill-tempered father to Louis Blackwell, had lost his bid for Prime Minister to a more “progressive,” soft hearted suit. Luna Nova’s News Network was particularly invested, especially since Blackwell had promised that he would “set those damnable magic types straight,” during many of his campaign rallies, to the discomfort of witches, newly awakened Fae, and their sympathizers alike. During that report on Blackwell’s loss, which actually took place in Blytonbury’s city center where the votes had been counted, Wangari’s eyes had caught sight of… someone; someone  _ eye catching _ . 

“M-Maybe….” Wangari knew that someone to be Diana. She was wearing a dashing set of formal winter attire at the time, the specifics of which Wangari couldn’t recall, but which Wangari knew to be attractive at the time. “Does that matter though?” She was still disappointed in herself for such a lapse in professionalism, but also for a much less comforting reason. “I’m… I’m not gay! So I shouldn’t be… feeling all of this… right?” She said it with such concern and fright that it was clear to Joanna and Kimberly both that Wangari was being honest: She genuinely didn’t think she was  _ right _ to possibly be anything but straight. It was as though it were an affront to… something! Someone! It was wrong in her gut, but right,  _ so much more right than wrong _ . 

“I… I….” Joanna was without much to say. She was usually very supportive of these kinds of identity-seeking conversations, even if she was straight and cis herself. She liked seeing people express themselves; it just felt right and natural to her. 

Kimberly on the other hand, being bisexual, knew she had to reset this discussion. “Ohhhh kaay…. Let’s… take a step back.” She raised her hands cautiously, calmingly, waving both of her friends down. Homophobia, internalized homophobia especially, needed to be handled delicately. “Both of you: Take a deep breath.”

“But I’m not….” Joanna got a knowing sort of look from Kimberly that told her to do it anyway, even if she wasn’t the one who needed it. “Fiiiine.” Both her and Wangari took a deep breath. 

“There…. Feeling better?” 

“Kind of….” Wangari rubbed her eyes as if she just woke up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say something so stupid, it’s just—” It was complicated is what it was. “Could… could I maybe explain a few things to you guys?”

Kimberly pursed her lips. “Like what?”

“It’s about where I came from.” Wangari had seldom spoken of her family and home of Kisumu, Kenya, if only because Kimberly and Joanna hardly ever spoke of theirs. She only knew them to be Vietnamese American and Polish respectively, and they knew her to be Kenyan. “I feel like I know  _ why _ this is causing me problems but…. But I just don’t get it. Ok, let me….” Wangari was usually flawless with words, but she also usually never had any troubles like this that demanded she make herself vulnerable. She took a sharp breath to reset herself yet again before starting over. “I think I know  _ what I experienced _ that has me feeling…  _ weird _ about maybe being into… girls….” Wangari trailed off a bit with her words, as did her vision. She shook herself back to focus. “But I don’t know why I can’t just make sense of it, or stop it or, anything!” And if there was one thing Wangari hated, it was inaction.

“It’s not like you can  _ turn off _ your attraction, Gari.” Kimberly pulled her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms about them. She just liked to sit like that sometimes. “People like who they like. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Delicate as Kimberly knew this subject to be, she was blunt at her core, and she wouldn’t deny that it was bluntness which helped her overcome her own internalized homophobia. 

“I know… and I don’t hold any of it against you guys! Honest!” Wangari was terrified of being seen as someone who might hate what some of her closest friends were. She loved them down in her heart…. It’s just that she never thought  _ her _ heart would want to  _ love  _ them a little more literally. “I just…. Ugh…. It’s complicated….”

“It’s ok, Wangari.” Joanna went over to sit down beside Wangari. She helped to ease her friend by putting her hands on Wangari’s shoulders, squeezing them gently. “We’re here for you! And we always will be!” Joanna always was the bubblier and more soft of the trio, similar to Jasminka, or maybe closer to Lotte. 

“Yeah.” Added Kim with a nod. “Always.” She offered a soft smile, one that showed a hint of pride. It took guts to approach a topic like this. 

“Aww….” Wangari sniffled, unable to contain her own uneasy smile. She threw her arms wide for a hug, one which the other two gladly fell in for. “Thanks guys…. Just gimme a moment, ok?” Wangari needed time to get herself composed, and, while she would never admit it, she  _ loved _ how Kimberly’s casual fragrances smelt. They always made Wangari’s heart beat a little faster, and set her lungs alight with a tingly feeling. It took no small amount of willpower for Wangari to remember the fact that it was that same sapphic yearning that had her in this crisis of being to begin with! Eventually, she pulled herself out of the hug, let her teammates pull away, and magicked over her half empty bottle of water. 

After a few sips and a bit of internal rehearsal, something Wangari usually did out loud and in front of a mirror before the really big broadcasts to practice her speaking, Wangari cleared her throat. “So: You guys know I’m Kenyan, obviously.” Kimberly and Joanna nodded plainly. “And maybe you know a bit about Kenya, or maybe you don’t. What’s important to know is that… being gay just… isn’t… seen as ok.” 

Kim clicked her tongue. “Not to interrupt, but it’s kinda still like that everywhere.” She wasn’t trying to be rude either. 

“I know, I know,” Wangari shifted uncomfortably on the bed, resting her palms in her lap. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that no one talks about it. Not typically at least.” She thought back to the Kenyan news broadcasts, newspapers, online reports, and so on that she’d consumed throughout her youth back in Kisumu. “And if it does get talked about, it’s usually to say that they’ve committed—” Wangari caught herself in the assumptions instilled in her by many of those aforementioned sources. “That they’ve been _ accused _ of committing a crime.” Not all of them painted LGBT persons poorly, but generally speaking, it was heavily frowned upon. Wangari went on as Kim hummed understandingly, while Joanna looked a bit more taken aback. “My mom and dad never said anything  _ bad _ about being gay, so it’s not like I was raised by homophobes or something, but…. They never really said anything  _ good _ about it either.” As Wangari went on, she started to gesture in line with her speaking. “And I love them, I really do, so, not knowing what they’d think….” Wangari inhaled with a hiss. “I’m worried they’d… get really mad at me or… maybe do something worse.” She’d heard plenty of stories about youths who outed themselves to their parents, not just in Kenya, but the UK as well, who were subsequently thrown out of their own homes. “I don’t want to upset them, but I know I can’t just bury this anymore. It’s been  _ years _ and I’ve been feeling like this, so clearly it’s gotta be something, right?” She said, even as part of her still hoped that it was in fact nothing. 

Kimberly took a long moment to contemplate all of that. She herself was lucky. Her parents lived in San Francisco, in an apartment not far from The Castro District, or “The Castro,” as it’s otherwise known, so she grew up with a pretty positive experience and understanding of being LGBT and such. It made it all the easier to out herself once she got over her own doubts, doubts that Wangari now faced with greater intensity and magnitude. It didn’t help that Kim had no context or understanding of Kenyan culture, and based on Joanna’s awkward silence and uncomfortably tight lips, she was just as lost as Kim was on how to really tackle this from a perspective that might best aid Wangari in regard to her family trouble.  _ “If we can’t help her with that….”  _ Kimberly thought.  _ “Maybe we can at least help her figure out if she really feels that way.”  _ It was the best they could do, she assumed. “I stand by what I said.”

“Eh?” Wangari perked her chin up, having let her eyes drift down in the silence that ensued her explanation. 

“You should go to Akko and just tell her how you feel. Tell them all. You won’t know if it feels right unless you talk to them about it.”

“B-B-But that’s social suicide!” For once, it was Wangari who was stuttering. Her hands were buried in her curled hair, grasping tightly onto her scalp. “E-Even if it helps me, and, s-sure, they wouldn’t tell my parents, they’d be  _ furious _ ! Diana and Akko I mean! You don’t just  _ tell a person in a relationship that you like their partner _ !” 

Sensible as it sounded, that got Joanna thinking. “Wait! That’s EXACTLY what you have to do!” The Polish witch’s once dour expression burst into one of realized glee. The would-be lightbulb above her head shined brightly!

“What!?” Exclaimed Wangari as she hid her face behind her hands.

“Huh?” Kimberly was just as confused. “Didn’t you just say five seconds ago that she literally couldn’t do that… for like, the  _ exact same reasons _ ?”

“I did!” Answered Joana with a foolish bit of pride, only to realize how dumb that sounded. She waved her hands frantically in front of her. “Wait, wait, wait! Lemme explain! I’m going somewhere with this! I promise!” Wangari peaked an eye out from behind her hands and glanced at Kimberly. Kimberly merely shrugged. What did they have to lose by listening? 

“Go ahead, Jo.” Kimberly slumped back into her chair, hoping this would be good. Joanna and Kimberly’s eyes fell to Wangari in search of her approval. After a moment’s contemplation, Wangari wearily nodded and allowed her hands to drop back to her lap.

“Ok!” Joanna grinned widely. She got that grin whenever she got a good idea bouncing around in her head; usually they were ones formed by the union of Kim and Wangari’s disagreements, and this thought was no different: “So, what Kim said is right…. BUT!” And it was a big but, one she accentuated by whipping out her wand. “Ansel!” She called out to her bat-winged, eyeballed camera, beckoning it from the table beside her bunk and into the air. The spirited camera flapped its way over to Joanna, lovingly rubbing itself up against her shoulder like a flying cat might. “Gimme a projection!” Ansel swiveled up and down in the air, as if to nod. It then spun about and flashed its shutters thrice, summoning up an arcane projection in the air. It displayed a finely sketched and animated image of Wangari, Diana, and Akko, all standing up straight and plainly, sporting cartoonized expressions. “Perfect!”

“Uhhh….” Wangari and Kim sounded in unintended unison. 

Joanna tapped her wand twice, elongating it to be something more akin to an instructing tool. She gestured with it, “fwapping” each of the projected figures as she referred to them by name. “But Wangari can’t just  _ say _ she has a crush!” The figures began to move, demonstrating her narrative. “If Wangari goes and tells Diana, then Diana might get jealous and scold her!” Wangari’s and Diana’s representations appeared to argue, with Diana mostly being the aggressor, leaving Wangari to cry with a broken heart. “And if she goes and tells Akko, Akko might feel awkward and not know what to do, which makes her want to not be friends with you! Then she might tell Diana, which leads to her getting jealous again, which is pretty bad!” Now Wangari’s and Akko’s figures were talking, which led Akko to get nervous and run away, followed by Diana coming out of nowhere to argue with Wangari again, once more leaving her sad. “So what you need to do is tell them both!” This time, the two were together when Wangari went and told them, and while it looked awkward, in the end, the figures came to an agreement and shook hands. “Sure, you probably won’t have Akko crushing back on you, but you’ll be able to get those feelings off of your chest, and maybe Akko and Diana can help you figure out this whole identity thing! It’s a win-win for everyone!” Joanna clasped her hands together and spun about on the tips of her left toe, like a playful ballerina. At the end of her twirl, she leaned forward with sparkles in her eyes and a hopeful smile on her face. “So? What do you think!?”

Kim and Wangari both blinked, looked to one another, and then faced Joanna again. It had been a while since Joanna made such a show of her plans like that, though it wasn’t wholly unwelcome. That said, Wangari clearly had reservations. Her lips were uneven, creased tightly, and dry with nervousness. “I…. I don’t know….” She shook her head slowly. “It’s about more than just getting this off of my chest…. Honestly, what I’m really worried about is… well… what if these feelings are legit?” And how would she explain them back home. Even opening up to other students felt vulnerable, even if Kim’s “research” had proven Luna Nova to be a safe place for LGBT folk to be.

Ansel prompt fell to the ground, sputtering and twitching in defeat, just as its photographer slumped over and groaned sadly. Luckily, Kim was there to set Wangari on the right path: “Well, how are you going to worry about that if you’re genuinely unsure about how you feel?” Wangari turned her eyes to meet Kim’s, but otherwise did not move her face. “You’re getting anxious about stuff that isn’t even a ‘problem’ yet, and all that’s doing is crippling you.” Kim crossed her arms about her chest. “The Wangari I know and love  _ isn’t _ the type of witch to get stuck up on the first bump in the road she comes across, no matter what the problem is.” 

Wangari felt a smile force itself onto her face. She supposed she couldn’t deny Kim’s sentiment. Wangari was never a type to give up easily; none of them were. They were journalists, after all. Self appointed apprentices or not, they were journalists damnit! The truth mattered above all else, no matter how frightening it seemed.  _ “I’ve gotta figure this out!”  _ Wangari voiced internally as she inhaled sharply and puffed up her chest. “Alright…. Alright I’ll do it!” She gripped the edge of her bed a bit tightly. “But I’m going to need you guys to back me up on this if things get… weird.” Wangari was no Amanda O’Neill though, she couldn’t fake her confidence to near perfection. “Can you promise me that?”

Jo and Ansel had recovered from their flounder, now standing with eyes and eye wide respectively. They looked to Kim who gave them a knowing smirk before they two smiled. In Ansel’s case, the camera just shut its eyes and fluttered happily. In unison, they spoke: “We promise!” Followed up by Joanna urging Wangari on further. “If you ask them to meet and talk about something serious, I’m sure that someone as mature as Diana would understand when you tell her! It’s all about timing and context!”

“Mhm.” Hummed Kimberly. “Just play it cool, be honest. It’s what you’re best at being to begin with.” 

Wangari sighed, allowing her chest to deflate and her shoulders to fall, relieved of some tension. “Thanks guys….” There was nothing left to do then: Wangari had a meeting to arrange. 

* * *

* * *

_ Nearly four hours later…. _

Wangari had arrived early.  _ “Ohhhh…. I hope a cafe meetup isn’t TOO casual for something like this.”  _ Because if she hadn’t, she knew she might chicken out only to force herself to arrive late, which would only make this far more awkward than it already needed to be.  _ “Why does stuff like this have to be awkward at all anyway!? Why can't people just… ask things about themselves?” _ It was a fruitless question to ask, both in the practical present of Wangari’s mind, and perhaps even in the realm of the theoretical. If the matter were so simple that a question such as that was emblematic of the core issue at heart when it came to sexuality, gender, identity, and oppression, then it likely wouldn’t have ever become a problem to begin with. It wasn’t as though Wangari was blissfully unaware of struggle and oppression of course. She came from a rather comfortable life, to be certain, given her parents both worked as logistics managers under a well respected trade union, and she had always been assumed to be straight, but of course the baggage of race and nation had followed her from the womb. It was simply the bewildering idea of yet another facet of her being becoming otherized, one she never bothered to sit down and question legitimately, that frightened her. 

How would this possibly change her day to day interactions? Would some people she knew, even in Luna Nova, look at her more strangely now? Did she have to hide that from them too? Would she ever be able to be honest with her family? She couldn’t lie to them. Lying was basically impossible for Wangari; it hurt her too much to do so. The truth was everything, and if that was the case, then how could she both remain safe and—

_ Ring-a-ring-ring! _

The door opening saw Wangari’s spiraling, anxious thoughts collide with a brick wall, clearing her head entirely. Akko’s voice brought that tension right back up though, and had her instinctively swivelling harshly on her seat. “Ooooh! It’s nice here!” Akko was mystified by damn near anything that was geared up for a celebration.

Diana, naturally, was rarely impressed. “It’s the cafe we’ve been to about twenty times before, love.” Though she did like the little rainbow streamers the owner had put up in service of the occasion. 

“But it’s a  _ special _ week!” Akko giggled. “And soon it’ll be  _ our _ special anniversary!” She leaned in close to Diana, nearly stumbling her austere partner back with how close her stupid grin got to her face. 

“A-Akko!” Diana chided, lowering her volume. “What did we agree upon in regard to PDA?” She had gotten pretty good at hiding the blush in public. 

“Oh come ooooon. It’s pride week!” Akko on the other hand could neither contain her volume nor her excitement. She threw up her arms high to the air, nearly hitting the dangling bell at the top of the door. 

“Pride… week?” Wangari blinked. She never really looked into what pride week was, or what it meant, or wear it came from, only that it happened it June, had something to do with the LGBT community, and thus involved rainbow flags.  _ “What do the flags even…? Oh! Nevermind that!”  _ She chased the question away.  _ “Focus up, Wangari! You’ve got one shot to make this work!”  _ She patted her own cheeks in preparation to shake off any other lingering thoughts and summon up her journalistic acumen: Even in the craziest of times, she could focus harder than—Then she saw it; or them, rather: Diana and Akko’s outfits. 

Akko was wearing a pair of overall pants of dark navy color, with a tie-dye, short-sleeved shirt of predominantly softer colors, such as white, light orange, salmon, pink, and yellow, all swirled together in a random, yet pleasing pattern. On the left strap of her overall sat a rainbow pin, and below that, a pin with stripes colored white,pink, purple, and orange. She had her hair up as she always did, in a sort of soft ponytail while allowing the rest of her locks to dangle down, though they were about two inches shorter nowadays; she’d grown out of the super long hair style she used to have, but not by much. Her shoes were simple, casual, much like Amanda’s old pair, but not as beat up; their flamingo haired friend had moved up to wearing combat boots most of the time anyway. It was a simple outfit and yet Wangari couldn’t help but get lost in it, and Akko’s near ever-starry eyes for that matter. And that stupid,  _ stupid _ grin Akko liked to parade around with. It was the icing on the cake, one that Wangari, deep in her heart, wished to taste. Akko was just attractive in ways that Wangari had no vocabulary or frame of reference to comfortably describe from. She felt it; that was it.

The same could be said about Diana, who was differently dressed, yet similarly pulling on Wangari’s pumping heart strings. The Cavendish heir was in a one piece pencil skirt dress with sleeves that reached down to her shoulders. The dress itself was a light teal color, that of the clear summer skies which graced the outside world, and if her dress was the sky, her blonde-green hair were the flowing rays of a queer sun, and not just in the sense that suns aren’t  _ usually _ green. If those descriptors were apt, and every possibly gay bone in Wangari’s body was telling her that they were, then that made Diana’s sharper, more restrained countenance to be the sun. She appeared to often look on with uncaring, clinical glares, though her emotions were deep, complex, and often in flux, only kept in check by years of refinement and, admittedly unhealthy bottling. Wangari got lost in that complexity all too easily, yearning to know what it would feel like to spend a day, or maybe a night, getting to know the ins and—

“Ahem… Wangari? Are you alright?” Diana had approached. Her clacking heels had done nothing to awaken Wangari from her stupor though. 

“Wha—!?” Wangari snapped to attention. “Ahah! Yeah! Yeah, I’m great!” She summoned up a wide, silly looking grin of her own, one she usually never had to force since she, much like Akko, was often bursting with positivity. 

“Ooooh!” Speaking of Akko. “I love your outfit, Wangari! Is that a new jacket?” She had come over just as Diana did; both stood before the Kenyan witch, about four feet away. Akko herself was leaned over to be a tad closer though as she eyed Wangari’s outfit up. “Oh, those sandals  _ definitely _ have to be new! Where’d you get ‘em?” Energetic as always, Akko spoke a little faster than most people. 

“W-What? This?” Wangari chuckled as she pulled on the collar of her olive green utility jacket which overlaid her white, Luna Nova News Network t-shirt. The shirts themselves displayed the golden circle, pronged by three sharp thorns, which served as the crest of Luna Nova, with the letter “L,” marking the topmost point, while two “Ns,” marked the bottom left and right points. Each letter was written out in flowery font, and connected itself to the emblem itself with wispy golden vines. Joanna whipped up a batch of the shirts last year; she had a thing for graphic design and digital art in general. Otherwise, Wangari wore a plain pair of black jeans, and, as Akko pointed out, she had decided to whip out her fancier footwear, even if the rest of her outfit was very casual. The sandals were flat, black soles connected by a singular strap between the big toe and the rest. The strap itself had three circular pads along its length, each marked by olive green stripes intersected by orange, white, and black beads. Those circles terminated in a larger band that went around her ankle, one which sported the same pattern as the circles, but in a horizontal pattern rather than a radial one. 

“They’re not new, actually.” Wangari’s smile widened a little. “My mom got them for me before I left for school. I usually don’t wear ‘em unless….” Wait, that might give away the fact that this was something serious. But she already told them that this was for something serious, so why was she worrying?  _ “Back up! Back up! Back up!”  _ Wangari bit the inside of her cheek. “I just felt like wearing ‘em is all! They’re nice though, right?”

“Mhm! Mhm!” Akko nodded profusely. “Really nice! Oh! Can we sit?” 

“Of course!” Wangari did her best to act natural, and luckily, she was great at keeping a game face. What was a reporter who couldn’t keep her composure? 

“Thanks!”

“Thank you.” Diana and Akko took their seats across from each other, but opposite to Wangari. Where Diana lithly and effortlessly slipped into a cross-legged posture, Akko fell with even less effort, having plopped down into her chair. They both then took a moment to check out the little menus. It was a cafe, but they served small lunch dishes along with the drinks and snacks. Akko stared at the menu intently, focusing entirely on both it, and the cravings of her stomach, while Diana more casually held up the menu between two of her fingers and let her eyes drift between it and Wangari, who she noticed lacked any interest in ordering; or so it seemed. “So, you said you wanted to discuss something important?” 

“Yeah, it’s… a little complicated though.” Wangari’s drifted forcibly away from Diana’s gaze. If she got lost in those eyes again, she’d look like a damn fool. “I thought maybe some coffee or tea or something would help….” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Make this meeting… smoother?” If it weren’t for her own uncertainty, that wouldn’t be a question. 

“Uhh-huh….” Diana nodded slowly. She hadn’t ever really seen Wangari act so strange. She was so often “in the zone,” perfectly representing the characterized ideal of an investigative journalist while never losing that human, optimistically radiant quality that oozed out of her personality. Then again, no one needed to tell Diana that people were always more emotionally complex than they first let on.  _ “Let’s just hope that this isn’t bad news.”  _ She thought.  _ “I would hate to see this week turn sour.”  _ It was rare that she afforded herself a “break,” as it were, and pride week, the week of her and Akko’s anniversary, was one of those rare exceptions. “Well, I can’t deny that you chose a good spot.” Her casually icy exterior softened, for Wangari’s sake, and because the cafe did have a truly comfortable atmosphere. “I’d like to think this is my favorite cafe in all of southern England.”

“Really?” Asked Wangari as her nervousness slowly began to fade, eased by Diana’s smile.

“Yeah!” Answered Akko in place of her girlfriend. “Diana LOVES this place! And I mean, come on, why  _ wouldn’t _ you?” 

Looking around, it was hard to deny that it was an idyllic hangout spot if the English, brick and mortar vibe was what one wanted. It was a wide corner store, bent in an L-shape with long open windows to give a perfect view out into the rest of Blytonbury. The building itself was slightly raised, and so a bit of the horizon got to peek through the buildings, given this was the more hilly part of town. The interior was just as tranquil, yet retained the rugged architecture of the town just beyond the glass. The walls were red brick, and the windows were encased by dark brown wooden frames which matched the oaken floors. Black framed chairs with lighter wooden backs and seats, cushioned by white pillows, served as the seats to the diamond shaped red tables that sat atop the stylistically weathered floor planks. The tables and chairs themselves were also worn down, but intentionally so, giving it that “lived in,” feel, or a sense of history, without actually losing any quality or comfort. Photos taken from around the town and neighboring communities dotted the walls alongside simple art pieces. One of the photos actually captured Red and Green team’s flight over town during the witch hunt parades back when they were first year witches. The other photos carried similar sentimental value; moments in Blytonbury’s history. It was neither brand named nor bourgeois, free of garish frippery and eye-sore trademarks, and the only way to tell an employee from a diner was the simple aprons they were. Everyone had pretty casual looks about them, though some were more jazzed up than others; especially those with little rainbow pins, ones that matched Akko’s own. They were enjoying the week, as it were, “holiday” or not; it was a time to celebrate for those who claimed the day. 

“It is pretty nice.” Wangari chuckled weakly. “So, how have you guys been?” She hoped to start this off easy.

“Pretty good!” Chirped Akko as she focused wholly on the menu.

Diana’s answer was more flat. “Fine.” Her attention remained on Wangari, and so she had more to say. “But before we get distracted, I’d like to hear about what you wanted to discuss with us.” Diana was a woman of judicious nature, first and foremost. Being summoned for important business meant that she would be there to  _ deal _ with said business. 

Wangari rubbed the back of her head, causing her hair to “fwip” up back into its original shape. “Ahh….” So much for starting off easy.

“Would you mind?”

“Hm? Oh, no, not at all.” Wangari lied. “Just uhh… give me a second ok?”

“Of course!” Akko smiled gleefully, having turned away from the menu, only to focus back onto it and immediately go wide eyed. “Oooh, Dianaaa!”

Diana sighed, forcing a smile of her own. “Yes, Akko?” 

“Let’s get a big milkshake and split it!” 

The smile quickly faded, replaced by a stare of slight judgement. “If this is a truly serious conversation, do you really think it’s appropriate for us to—” But, in the end, Akko’s unrivaled positive energies won out with a mere glance, shattering Diana’s defences. 

Diana sighed louder this time. “Very well. We’ll split it.” 

“Yes!” Akko whispered her victory cry as she pumped her fist.

Wangari couldn’t help but chuckle at the exchange. Their chemistry only made the thing she came to speak to them about feel all the more strange and unwelcome, but in an ironic way; one that she had to laugh at, or else she’d give into fear.  _ “And to think they’re near their anniversary…. Am I really about to tell them I have a crush on them?”  _ Her deep breathing prepared her to do just that.  _ “Welp. Here goes everything.”  _ Wangari wiped her cheeks before setting her hands flat on the table. “Ok: I’m ready.” Diana and Akko both shot Wangari a curious look, one that preceded an awkward bit of silence as Wangari awaited for an audible bit of approval that never came. When Wangari realized she was expected to continue, she cleared her throat, lowered her volume, and got the hardest part over with: “I like you both.” Diana and Akko both blinked witlessly. They were friends,  _ of course _ Wangari liked them! Wangari’s blush deepened, becoming prominent. “I mean I like you both…  _ a lot _ …. I… think I might have a crush on you two.” Her pace of speaking only increased, and her eyes soon became unable to meet Diana and or Akko’s. She looked down at her lap like she was faced by a pair of Medusae. “And on Amanda too…. And…. God, I feel like everyone— _ every girl _ I look at….” Her heart raced, her brow dampened slightly, and her knuckles tightened unintentionally. Suddenly, Wangari picked her head up and faced the music proper: “I’m having feelings for girls, and I really don’t know what to do about it….” She swallowed back a cannonball of anxiety caught in her throat. “So I need your help to figure this out!”

Diana and Akko’s mouths were slightly opened; they looked like they’d both just been struck by a truck load of whiplash. Their temporary silence did nothing to comfort Wangari, of course. It only made her more nervous. “Ok, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Wangari started looking for the exit. Her speaking pace quickened by the moment, making it hard to really follow what she was saying. “This was probably really dumb, and I should have just kept my mouth shut and I just need to—” But before Wangari could actually make for an escape attempt, Akko and Diana both had unintentionally reached our and put their right hands over Wangari’s left. The gesture stopped her heart and breathing. 

“Wait!’ The two lovers accidentally spoke in unison, prompting Diana to clear her throat and nod in Akko’s direction, giving her the floor. “You don’t have to go. We can help you!” Akko’s smile was gone, but that wasn’t a bad thing, per say. She was determined now, and in true Atsuko Kagarai fashion, she took every emotion she felt to what felt like its logical extreme. Her brows were knit, her lips pursed, and her posture was proud and straight up, yet her grip upon Wangari’s hand remained tender. 

Part of Wangari couldn’t believe it. “R-Really?” Despite the fact that she knew Akko to be like this all too well. Wangari had gotten too stuck in her own catastrophizing to remember just who she was dealing with. “You guys don’t think it’s… weird?” 

Perhaps if this were a less serious moment, Diana would have afforded herself a laugh. Instead, she shook her head softly. “Not at all. I’d never turn a classmate away for being honest with me.” Wangari slowly felt the tension sink away from her shoulders, though she felt strangely disappointed with how Diana referred to her. 

“Classmate?” Akko took the word right from Wangari’s momentarily saddened mind. “I don’t know about you, Diana, but Wangari’s not just a classmate! She’s a friend!” Akko squeezed both of their hands tightly and leaned in over the table. “And friends don’t not help friends figure stuff like this out!” She thought she said that right, at least. 

Diana faced Akko warmly, “You’re right, Akko. I apologize.” Before offering that same warmness to Wangari. “Friend is the better term.” 

Wangari’s drooping brows raised up again. _“Friend….”_ She hadn’t actually spent that much time with Diana or Akko; at least, not directly or personally. Wangari was a busy woman, much like Diana, so she had little time to socialize with many other witches outside of the LNN, let alone outside of Yellow team. Even so, she more than appreciated the gesture from Akko as a soft smile creeped across her face, overpowering the anxious frown that once dominated Wangari’s expression. “Thanks guys. I’m really glad you can think of me like that!” Her excitement was there, but muted, somewhat. Doubt yet plagued her. “I just hope… you don’t mind… you know….” Akko and Diana seemed a tad confused, so Wangari elaborated. “I mean, you’re both _dating_ , and I don’t want you to think that I was trying to poach either of you from the other or something.” 

Diana gestured upward with her free, open palmed hand. “I don’t mind at all. It’s not like you tried to profess your love to either of us in secret. You were honest, decisive, and brave to tell us both, and I respect it greatly. Wouldn’t you agree, Akko?” As Akko answered, Wangari silently thanked Joanna and Kimberly; their plan had helped out Wangari immensely. 

“Mhm! Mhm!” Akko nodded thrice. “And don’t get so worried about your feelings and stuff! Being a girl who likes girls is  _ totally normal _ ! Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise”

Wangari’s smile faltered briefly. Her gaze was cast to the side. She’d do her best to explain her predicament: “A-About that—”

But before Wangari could explain what was exactly wrong, Akko interrupted her. “Wait! Did someone say that to you?! Who said that to you!? Gimme a name and I’ll get Amanda to swing by so me and her can kick their a—”

“N-No! No!” Wangari returned with her own interjection. “No one we know  _ told me _ , it’s more like….” She hummed thoughtfully and retracted her hand from the center of the table as the others did the same. “Do you mind if I explain a few things about how I grew up? Because that’s where I think most of my problems are coming from.” Of course, Akko and Diana nodded. They had no objections, and would listen intently. “Thanks again…. So, I grew up in Kisumu, a city in Kenya….”

* * *

_ About fifteen minutes later…. _

“Honestly,” Said Wangari with a growing air of finality. “I’ve never really felt very strongly about it in the past, but I always saw that it was something to… well, reject. Like you should stay away from it, and if you happen to have thoughts like that, then you need to keep quiet or pray it away.” And Wangari was not a woman of faith. “I never liked that aspect of it either and thought I was above or immune to that kind of thinking but…” She shrugged. “Here we are.” Thus ended her explanation.

Diana started off with a simple nod. “Thank you for sharing all of that, Wangari.” Wangari had gone through her home life, family matters, the things she saw and heard about in person or on the news, and even about certain traditions in particular Kenyan tribes, where same sex marriage between women was not uncommon; in those cases, the marriage, while between two women, was not considered homosexual. Those often had to do more with bloodlines and keeping property rights under certain familial names, and less about love between two women. “I’d like to think that Akko and I can relate to what you’re struggling with.”

“You can?” 

Diana turned to Akko for an answer on that. Akko was rubbing her chin, turning all of the gears in her head as hard as she could. Eventually, she nodded firmly. “It’s pretty similar to what Diana had to deal with, actually. And me too—” Akko closed one eye as she thought a bit harder for a moment. “—Kind of. It was pretty easy with my parents after Diana agreed to go out with me! Before that though?” Akko waved her left hand lazily from left to right. “I was so nervous and scared that Lotte had to use a sleeping spell just to get me to calm down! I still never get how that spell works though, because every time I wake up, I feel like I got hit in the head by some—” 

Diana cleared her throat, stopping Akko from going off on one of her tangents. “What Akko is trying to say is yes, we both understand the anxieties and concerns that come with outing yourself to your own family.”

“Outing?” Asked Wangari.

“Telling someone you’re not straight.” Clarified Diana.

“Right, right.” Wangari noted the term down in her mind. She’d have to do that a lot more throughout the week given the occasion. “But it’s not just about outing myself to my family. I don’t even know if I’m actually gay, or if I really like girls.” 

“Well,” Began Akko. “Do you like ‘em?”

“I-I just said I don’t know….”

“But you said you like me and Diana right?” 

“Y-Yes….” Wangari shuffled in her chair. 

“So you like girls!” Akko proudly smirked and crossed her arms.  _ “Case closed!” _

Diana palmed her own face. “That’s not how this works, Akko. You should know better.” Akko’s pride deflated like a balloon. She slumped forward onto the table, resting her cheek flat against the cold table. Diana continued, let her hand rest on her lap, and spoke to Wangari: “First of all, Wangari: Would you say you have these feelings towards men as well? It’s more than alright if you do, but it’s important that we be clear about these sorts of things.” 

Wangari cocked her head to the side, thinking back long and hard on her experiences. “No…. No, not really. I’ve never actually been in any kind of relationship before, so I have no idea what It’s like to… well,  _ like _ someone.” 

Diana clicked her tongue. “I see. Well, what Akko is trying to say is that those feelings you have toward us and other women shouldn’t be ignored. If you have those desires consistently, then it’s worth investigating if dating another woman is something you’d feel comfortable with.” 

“You mean, like, secretly?” Wangari didn’t like the sound of that.

“Perhaps.” Admitted Diana. “Though, as I said, honesty is the best policy. While Akko and I would not be available for such an experiment, we could always help you ask someone else out on a—” Diana was cut short by Akko. 

“THAT’S IT!” Akko had nearly jumped out of her chair from her slumped over position. She threw her arms out wide enough to force Diana to duck. “We’ll find you a girl to smooch! Then you’ll KNOW if those feelings are real or not!” 

Wangari leaned forward, her eyes nearly popping out of her face in terror. “Y-Y-You want me to just kiss someone!?” She couldn’t actually imagine kissing someone.

Diana tried to nudge herself back into a normal seating position, and back into the conversation. “A-Akko! That’s n-not what I was sugg—!”

“You’re right! Just kissing anyone isn’t enough!” But Akko’s boundless energy was too much for the Cavendish heir to overcome. She started pacing around the table frantically before she threw her palms down onto the table and leaned over it. “Wangari!”

Again, Wangari’s heart skipped a beat. “W-What!?” Akko’s face was nearly a foot away from her own, and that was after Wangari leaned as far back as she could. 

“I need you to stop by my dorm in a few hours!”

“Why!?” Asked Diana and Wangari, only for the former to get tugged along by the hand as Akko started for the door. “What is the meaning of—!? Akko!? AKKO!” Despite her protests, Diana couldn’t resist Akko’s scheming and adventuring, no matter how much trouble it usually put them in, and so she stumbled up from her chair and followed Akko toward the exit. Besides, Akko wasn’t answering Diana’s protests, so Diana gave up a few moments later. “I’m sorry about this Wangari!” Wangari hself was stuck in her chair, stunned by how fast everything was happening. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to!” Diana called out from about half way across the room.

“Don’t worry about it!” Countered Akko. “It’ll be great! You’ll love it! Trust me!” She pressed her hand against the door and began to head outside.

_ Ring-a-ring-ring! _

Just then, Wangari realized what was really going on. “No way! No! Hold on!” Wangari pushed out of her chair and kept calling out, “Akko! Wait up!” But to no avail. At this point, the three of them were earning quite the awkward looks from the cafe staff and the other patrons. Given they couldn’t get anymore disruptive, Wangari gave chase, nearly tripping over her own sandals in the process. She followed Diana and Akko outside, finding the two of them briskly walking away from the cafe. “Akko! Diana!”

Akko glanced back as Wangari caught up with them. “Hey! No following! It’s gonna be a surprise!” 

“Does everything you do have to be a surprise or a celebration, love?” Diana was already feeling more tired than she should be by now.

“Of course it does!” It was the Kagari special, after all.

Diana groaned, and Wangari tried to make sense of this. “You can’t seriously think you’re going to be able to find someone to kiss me for no reason!” The worst part was, Wangari actually  _ wanted _ this to work out. She  _ wanted _ to kiss a girl and see what it felt like, to go on a date with a woman, to see her sprouting love for one of her closest friends be reciprocated, but there Wangari was, doing everything she could to try and call it impossible.

“Who said it would be for no reason?” Retorted Akko, who actually stopped to turn around and address Wangari on this. “There’s tons of reasons to kiss you! You’re like, one of the most kissable girls at the academy! I bet tons of people we know wanna kiss you!” Wangari was, understandably, very unsure of how to respond to this, and came to a shocked sort of halt.

Diana managed to free herself from Akko’s grip with a little bit of effort then now that her girlfriend was distracted. “While I’m not exactly sure  _ what _ my girlfriend is planning, I have to agree: You shouldn’t assume that you aren’t already someone else's crush. Especially at a school like Luna Nova.” She meant to encourage Wangari, though all that did was make Wangari feel faint.

The would-be spectre of Kimberly’s not-a-thesis thesis had come back to haunt Wangari. “Someone… might be crushing on me!?” It was an obvious possibility, and hardly outside of the realms of possibility, and yet Wangari never seemed to consider it. She stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, mouth partly agape, and arms at her side as she tried to comprehend whether she liked that thought or not. Or rather, she _knew_ she liked the thought of being crushed on by another student from the academy, but she’d prefer it if this possible admirer was someone specific; someone on her team. 

Before she could put any of that into spoken words though, Akko was off waving a finger in her face all serious like. Though, her seriousness was so overdialed that it was practically laughable. “Now listen here, Wangari! We’re gonna prove that you’re totally more kissable than you give yourself credit!” Diana wanted to interject and say that this was never about that, but she digressed. “Me and Diana are going to get everyone together for a night on the town for the start of pride week, and I want you to come along! We’re gonna meet you after dinner at my dorm room! So if you wanna find out for real if you like girls then you better show up on time!” As if Akko would actually leave without Wangari; this was mostly “heat of the moment” ranting on Akko’s part. 

“A night on the town?!” The fearful part of Wangari kept searching for a way out of this. “It’s not like I wanna hook up with someone random!” 

But that excuse just made Akko grin. “Who said you were gonna kiss someone random? Hmmmm?”

“Huh?” Wangari was, once again speechless, though her thoughts were louder than ever. _ “Who is she talking about? Is it someone I know well? Someone Akko knows well? Does Akko know who’s crushing on me? Is anyone crushing on me at all?”  _ Faces, names, possibilities, all of them flew past her in the span of a second, though one stood out:  _ “God I hope it’s K _ —”

Before Wangari could finish the thought, Diana was posing her own questions. “Akko, you know I don’t mind your surprises every now and then, but really, what is it you have planned?” She had her arms cross about her chest, and was tapping her foot expectantly. Akko maintained her grin throughout despite the judgemental look, and leaned over to Diana’s ear to whisper her plan. Wangari watched as Diana’s cheek grew uncharacteristically flush, even as Diana forced her austere frown to remain. Wangari tried to listen in, but just as she started to focus on the sound of Akko’s tricky whispers, Diana was told something very shocking indeed, something that made her physically recoil. “You can’t be serious, Akko!”

Akko pulled back and put a finger to her chin as she swayed from left to right, acting all too innocent for how mischievous she sounded. “And what if I aaaaaam?” 

Strangely, Akko’s cheeks were similarly flush. “Then….” But Diana’s were  _ much _ redder. “I suppose I shall… help you.” Diana forced herself to look away from the other two as Wangari approached and Akko did a little dance and cheer.

“What!?” Wangari was practically begging for an answer. “What did she say?!” She got close to Diana, hopefing that the more restrained witch would spill the secrets.

Diana was silent at first, and tried so very hard to not look at Wangari, but she could see her out of her own peripherals. “I apologize, Wangari.” Diana sighed. “But I am sworn to secrecy.”

Wangari threw her head back and palmed her face with both hands. “Ugh! You guys…!” After a moment, she threw them down and leaned forward. “I’m not doing it!” She looked and sounded frustrated; understandably so. “Not if you guys aren’t going to tell me what’s even happening! You know I don’t like secrets!” Diana awkwardly looked from Wangari to Akko and nodded to her girlfriend. This was her idea. It was her responsibility to explain it. 

Akko, having not expected a genuinely upset response, ran it back a little. “Hey, hey, don’t worry, Wangari!” She held up her palms flatly in Wangari’s direction and waved them a little frantically. Her smile was uneasy now, but her tone was far more genuine. “It’s not like we’re forcing you to do it! I was just thinking it’d be better if you didn’t know uh…  _ who _ would be there.”

“What’s the reason for that?” Wangari put her fists to her hips and spoke how any investigative journalist might when pushing for the truth. 

“Well… I mean…. Based on everything you said, I bet you’re probably just trying to… you know, hide it?” It came out like a question, given Akko felt like she had to be careful now. If she wanted her plan to work, she needed to not alienate Wangari. Luckily for Akko, she was spot on, and her educated guesswork saw Wangari’s frustration fall away to acceptance. She didn’t actively say anything immediately, but Wangari looked down and away from Akko and closed up her posture. She looked ashamed, if anything. Having spotted it, Akko spoke up with renewed confidence. “It’s ok if you feel that way! I felt that way too, and so did Diana!” She approached Wangari with her hands clenched tight by her chest. “A lot of people feel that when they start questioning who they are, and it’s not your fault that you got told that being like this was wrong. You just need a safe place to explore that part of yourself,” When Akko was nearly up in Wangari’s face, the Kenyan witch was forced to meet her gaze. “And that’s exactly what I wanna give you tonight! I’m gonna make sure you can learn how to live with pride!” 

Diana and Wangari both were caught off guard by this display of firmness and principle, though, the former quickly realized she shouldn’t be that surprised. It was that same kind of devotion which brought Diana back to Luna Nova, what had her open up to her own family, and what would no doubt see them through any future trials and tribulations. “I can confirm her intentions, Wangari. She means you no harm, and I don’t either.” Her embarrassment remained in the form of her flushed cheeks, but Diana was able to speak much more calmly now. “If you come by the dorm, we’ll explain everything there. If you decide that you are not ready or don’t want to do it, then no one’s forcing you to. You can leave at any time or you come at all. It’s your choice.”

Wangari’s expression softened, her shoulders eased, and her arms dropped to her sides. “Ok….” 

Akko backed off, giving Wangari some space to breathe. “You’ll do it?”

“I’ll think about it.” Wangari nodded assuredly. “I’ll come by and see what it is and… and we’ll go from there.” 

There was a pause of realization before Akko’s face lit up like a firework display. She gasped deeply before letting out one of her signature: “Yay!” Her cheer coincided with her throwing her arms up in celebration. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You won’t regret trusting me! I promise, you’re  _ totally _ going to love it!!” Her smile was unmatched. 

By osmosis, Wangari couldn’t help but smile a little herself.  _ “It’s kinda hard to hide from people who care that much.”  _ She thought to herself as she chuckled along with Diana. “Honestly, I should be thanking you guys.” She put her hands in her jacket pockets and took quiet, measured breaths. “I don’t think I’d ever really feel comfy about any of this if you guys weren’t so understanding.”

Akko bowed her head appreciably as Diana offered her own sentiment. “I’m certain you’d discover whatever it is you want on your own at some point in your life. Everyone figures themselves out at their own pace. Some don’t even realize who they are until well into their golden years.” She gestured calmly toward Wangari with an open palm. “All we’re doing is helping you help yourself.”

“I really appreciate it.” Wangari nodded. 

“But we can’t be the ones to advise you on when and how you should tell your family.” Diana’s smile dipped slightly into a more neutral expression. “That’s something you’ll have to feel out on your own. I myself will always be around to talk about such matters given my own experience with my aunts and cousins. Furthermore, if you have any questions about anything, really, feel free to seek me out.” 

Wangari pursed her lips. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that….” But she didn’t know when, or for why.  _ “First things first,” _ She thought to herself.  _ “I gotta figure out what all of these feelings mean.”  _ Joanna and Kimberly’s advice again came to her aid.  _ “Then I can worry about how I’m going to live with them.”  _ Otherwise, there was nothing else to do but prepare, and wait. “I guess… I’ll see you guys tonight?”

“For sure!” Akko took Diana’s hand.

And Diana took Akko’s. “Certainly.”

Wangari took a deep breath. “Alright!” She gave a wave and saw the two off. “I’ll see you then! Right after dinner!” Akko and Diana nodded and waved in return as they began their trip back to the ley-line tower on the edge of town. It was only then that Wangari realized something, something that made her slow her waves and drop her arms by her side as sadness fell upon her.  _ “Dangit!”  _ She pouted to herself.  _ “We didn’t get milkshakes….”  _ Wangari glanced back, eyeing the cafe.  _ “Am I really going to have a big milkshake all alone…?”  _ Her eyes were drawn from Akko and Diana to the cafe, and then back one more time again before she finally settled on the cafe and sighed.  _ “Fiiiine….”  _ A few moments later, she was dragging herself over to the door.  _ “I guess I’ve earned it.”  _ Today, no, the past few years had been rough for her, in regard to her feelings of love and attraction at least. Hopefully the night’s affairs would see her rewarded for all of her struggles with identity. 

* * *

* * *

And yet the night couldn’t come any slower! 

Wangari paced and paced and paced, affording Joanna and Kimberly absolutely no chance of doing any of their school work. They knew  _ exactly _ why she was pacing, of course, but that didn’t make the matter any less distracting, and Wangari had no other choice: This spiralling anxiety was an almost wholly foreign feeling, given Wangari was usually so cool and calm when it came to reasoning things out. She felt like she’d been in far more stressful situations, and came out better from them, while by comparison, this seemed like nothing more than a trifle. And yet there she was, pacing, and pacing, and pacing….

Kim, being the bluntest of the three, was the first to peek her head over her textbook and put a stop to this. “Uhh, Gari?” 

“Wha—!? Wangari nearly tripped right over just at the sound of another’s voice. It had been so quiet, yet so loud within her head as her mind bounced back and forth on the issues of the day at blinding speed. After stabilizing, Wangari waved to Kimberly as if either of them had just walked into the room. “Whatcha need, Kim?”

Kim sighed and closed her textbook. She saw right through Warngari’s poorly mustered false confidence. “Well, you’ve been walking back and forth for, like, an hour now? And I’d  _ really _ like it if I could get my homework done before it gets too late.” 

Joanna entered the conversation just a moment later, peering over her own textbook. “We’re not trying to be rude, but uh, we both kinda need to focus.”

Wangari’s head drooped as she wiped her face and gestured lazily. “I know, I know…. I’m sorry.”

“You’re good.” Assured Kimberly. “I mean, you’re not, obviously.” Merely a glance could reveal that.

Wangari blew a sputtering bit of air from her cheek as she idly looked out of the window. “Thanks for the encouragement.”

“Do you still not know if you’re going?” Asked Joanna as she set aside her own textbook, being careful to mark the page. 

Wangari turned her head to Joanna, prepared to fire off whatever first came to her head, as if that would settle things, only to have the words yes and no come at the exact same moment. Wangari opened her mouth only to close it the next instant and turn her head back to the window, acting as if she never looked to her left to begin with.  _ “Dangit! Why the hell does this have to be so hard!?”  _ Wangari crossed her arms about her chest and puffed up her cheeks as her mind reset itself to think on the issue anew.  _ “It’s not like I actually lose anything if I go or don’t go…. I just need more time is all. A few more days. I’m sure Akko would be fine helping me out next week.”  _ Or the week after that, or the week after that week, and so on and so forth. Wangari sighed.  _ “Would I even last until then?”  _ She thought of all the times she’d been caught staring, daydreaming, and fantasizing about entire scenes and events that could only be described as “sapphic,” and Wangari didn’t even know what that word meant!  _ “God! I feel like I’m gonna end up like those characters in a stupid romance tradgedy where they die of unrequited love or something!”  _ How Wangari detested such flowery fictions; or rather, she had no patience for novels. They either put her to sleep or had her throwing it aside as she went to do something that was more stimulating for her brain. They just never clicked for her.  _ “And now I feel like I’ve got terminal heart-break syndrome, or whatever I didn’t even get rejected!” _ It was all very frustrating, to say the least. 

Kimberly and Joanna both watched on as Wangari huffed and grumbled to herself. In the meantime, they shared a few looks, but not any words. They didn’t want to disturbed Wangari’s thinking, so instead they gestured silently to one another. Jo thumbed to the door. She was thinking they should just try and study in the library, but Kim was quick to remind her that it closes earlier on saturdays. Joanna hummed thoughtfully, wondering why a boarding school's library would close at all, only to shrug, as if to ask Kim for ideas. Kimberly instead pointed to Wangari; they needed to help her get this solved, or else they’d never know peace, Wangari included. Besides, they said they’d help her in any way they could. Joanna cocked her head from left to right; Kim had a point. The uncertain and uneasiness on Joanna’s face explained confusion though: How could they help?

Kim took a moment to mull it over before she focused on Wangari. Given what she knew, and the way Kimberly thought, the best way to help Wangari would be the most direct way: “We could go with you, if you want.” It was so simple, and yet it struck Wangari like lightning. 

Wangari looked over her shoulder, unable to hide or ignore her blush, or the racing of her heart. “You’d go….” And then she remembered what she’d be  _ doing _ at said location: Kissing someone.  _ “Oh my god. Oh my god! OH MY GOD! NO!”  _ If Kim saw Wangari kissing someone else, then she might think—

“Of course we’d go!” Interrupted Joanna. “We said we’d help you out, right?” She was kicking herself for not thinking of something like this earlier. 

“Y-Yeah!” Wangari had to agree, if only to keep herself from dwelling too much on Kimberly’s offer. “But wouldn’t it be really awkward to come and watch me… you know?” Again, Wangari was a terrible liar. This wasn’t a lie, but it  _ was _ a disingenuous distraction, and she was pretty terrible at those too. 

Kimberly honestly didn’t get why Wangari even brought it up: “You’re just kissing some girl. Who cares if we see?” She shrugged. “We wouldn’t tell anyone unless you told us to.”

“Mhm! We’ll be your wingmen!” Joanna jokingly pointed finger guns at Wangari.

Wangari fully turned around, throwing her arms up in defeat. “I’m not trying to get a date!” 

Joanna pressed her. “But wouldn’t it be great if you did?” 

Wangari sighed as she finally began to let her guard down. “I guess… it would be nice….” She muttered. 

Kimberly briefly pinched the bridge of her nose. “All we’re saying is that we’ll come with you so you don’t get cold feet right at the door. We can turn away or wait around a corner or something if it’s really that embaressing for you.”

“I-I appreciate it, but—”

“But nothing.” Interjected Kimberly. “I can tell you right now, just by looking at how you’ve been freaking out about all of this, and everything you said, that this  _ probably _ isn’t just a weird little phase of yours.” Her tone was stern, curt, and to the point; no more games. “So let’s just settle this here and now: Gimme a yes or no answer. Do you want to go meet up with Akko or not?” 

Wangari was backed into a corner now, so to speak. She’d been bouncing back and forth about topics all day in her head, but all of that was for naught if she didn’t do anything about it. Now that Akko had given her a way forward, it was upo to her to either take it, or reject it, and seek another route. To Kimberly’s credit, Wangari thought she sounded rude, but knew that she could tell that Wangari needed a firm position to focus on, otherwise she’d just uncertainly weasel her way out of it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.  _ “Am I really going to have a better way of figuring this out?”  _ She pondered. A few moments passed, and ultimately, she found there was only one answer to that question.  _ “No…. Probably not.”  _ And it would likely be just as hellish to find another way given how torn up and nervous she was about her identity. Thus she answered Kimberly’s question as she opened her eyes and nodded. “I guess I do.” 

Kimberly raised an eyebrow. “You guess?” 

“I do!” Wangari assured with as much confidence as she could muster. “I do.” 

Kimberly looked to Joanna then and cracked a soft smile. “Then we’ll with you every step of the way.” 

Joanna smiled in turn and reached for the sleeping Ansel on the other side of her bed. “And I’ll even take a few pics to capture the moment if you want!”

Wangari couldn’t help but smile a little herself. “I’ll… think about that while we’re walking.”

“Oh! Yeah!” Joanna rose up from her bed, put Ansel around her neck, and checked her watch. “Didn’t you say they’d meet with you after dinner…? Because dinner ended like, an hour ago….”

Wangari nodded and checked her own clock, only to make a double take at the time as Joanna’s warning registered in her head. “Wait, seriously!?”

Kimberly shot up from her bed and motioned hastily for the door. “Then what the hell are we waiting for!? Let’s go!” They were in full gear then, fumbling to search for their shoes and sandals before Wangari, Kimberly, and Joanna all rushed out the door and down the halls. Next stop: Red team’s dorm. 

* * *

The walk to Red team’s dorm took only a few minutes, but by The Nine, it felt like an hour long trek to Wangari. She couldn’t turn back though, they were already late, and while a small part of her yet hoped that Akko and companjy had already left, the mahority of her was now hoping that she would put this to rest once and for all tonight. Hope was well and good, but it didn’t prepare for her to spot the crowd gathered outside and around their destination. Amanda, Hannah, Barbara, Diana, Akko, and Lotte were gathered in a loose crowd, all sporting casual evening wear in preparation for the nightly festivities to come:

Amanda was wearing her signature leather jacket, plain white t-shirt, jeans, and boots combo, and had an arm around both Hannah and Barbara, who wore matching summer dresses; red and green in color respectively. All three of them had slight grins to them, and if one got close enough, they’d smell the pre-game booze on their breaths, but on Amanda’s most strongly. Lotte was dressed similarly to Hannah and Barbara, though her dress was a long-ish blouse accompanied by a pair of jeans. Akko and Diana on the other hand were wearing what they did back at the cafe, though Diana had borrowed one of Akko’s lesbian pride-flag pins and put it above her heart. At the very least, Wangari wasn’t in her school uniform, so she didn’t look over dressed. 

That fact did little to ease her thumping heart; who among them was the chosen girl? Who was Wangari going to kiss? Was it Lotte? She was the only one  _ not _ in a relationship, and Wangari couldn’t deny that she was  _ very _ cute, but it wasn’t just Lotte who was blushing when they looked to Wangari and company. Every last one of the gathered witches had a knowing sort of grin, smirk, or smile, and all of their cheeks were a little red; Diana’s remained the reddest. Joanna and Kimberly on the other hand seemed confused, and gave eachother sidelong stares of bewilderment as they stood just behind and to either side of Wangari, who was, understandably, sapphically stunned. 

“Well, well, well, look who’s here.” Chimed Hannah in the most taunting, yet strangely welcoming voice she could muster. 

“And she’s  _ only _ an hour late.” Joked Amanda. 

“Better late than never!” Chirped Barbara. None of the polycule seemed to mind.

Lotte waved sheepishly. “Hei, hei.” While Diana gave a gentle nod. 

“Wangari!” Akko burst forward and tightly embraced the stunned invitee. Now Wangari was in first place for “worst blush of the night.” Wangari glanced over her shoulder, looking for that emotional support that Kim and Jo had come to give, and found them offering thumbs up. With that bit of encouragement, Wangari let herself return the hug. Akko pulled back a few moments later, still grinning giddily. “I’m so glad you came! I was really getting worried!”

“Ahh, yeah, sorry about that.” Wangari rubbed the back of her head. “I kinda lost track of time.” 

“Don’t sweat it.” Amanda brought her arms out from around her girlfriends to casually crack her knuckles. “We’ve got all night to party.”

“Say, Amanda,” Began Joanna. “Weren’t you off on one of your trips?”

“Yeah, I just came back from Scisilly.” Amanda had to negotiate with a rather spiteful coven of sirens that were causing sailors around those waters to go mad. “I can tell you all about it later, maybe over a few more drinks.”

“Pff,” Hannah elbowed her butchier girlfriend. “As if you need anymore.”

“Oi, oi,” Amanda nudged back, a little harder, and with a grin. “ Don’t you worry about me. I can handle my drinks.” 

Barbara rolled her eyes. “Last time you said that you blacked out so hard you forgot what year it was after you woke up.” She did her best to hide actual resentment, but a little of it seeped through. 

“Aaanyways.” Diana cleared her throat, bringing all focus onto her. “Is this our entire party? I wouldn’t want to leave anyone behind.”

Wangari gulped; could her kissing partner be running more late than her? Akko took a headcount, wagging her finger in the direction of each person until she finished on Kimberly. “If Joanna and Kim wanna come, then yep! That’s everyone!”

The two reporters behind Wangari gave each other a passing glance and shrug. 

“If you don’t mind me coming.” Given Joanna wasn’t really someone who could celebrate pride. 

“Of course!” The more the merrier though, in Akko’s eyes. 

“Eh, why not.” Kimberly smiled. “I’m not really dressed for it, but hey, pride only comes once a year.”

“Sounds great!” Akko always wanted to spend more time with Yellow team. “Before we go though, Wangari needs to—”

“W-Wait!” Lotte’s interjection brought all eyes upon her as she looked around worriedly. “W-Where’s Sucy?” Diana immeditely froze up, but she’d gotten good at hiding such reactions.

“Beats me.” Amanda shrugged. “I literally just flew in like, an hour ago.” 

“Haven’t seen her.” Chimed Hannah. 

“Me neither.” Said Barbara. “But I know Constanze and Jasminka were working on something in the kitchen.” Something about the blender having “gone rogue,” in Constanze’s words. 

Akko hummed and rubbed her chin. “I think I saw her in the morning…. No, no, that was yesterday.”

Wangari cocked her head. “Does she  _ not _ usually sleep in your guys’ dorm?”

“Not as m-much anymore.” Lotte adjusted her glasses and shuffled in place. “She likes to stay with Constanze down in her lab sometimes.” 

“Oh good, the two ultra-nerds are still sciencing away at god knows what down in that workshop of theirs.” Amanda snorted and raised up one finger for each of her preceding examples. “Seriously, how haven’t they either A, blown up the school, B, poisoned us all by accident, or C, gotten kicked out for… for….” Her tipsyness made it a little hard to come up with a succicent punchline. “Something… something… giant robot mushroom.” She lazily rolled the wrist of the hand she had raised.

At this point, Diana had been able to cook up a sensible enough lie, one which wasn’t at least a complete deviation from the truth. “She’s down in the infirmary. She badly burnt herself whilst working with her potions.” Amanda’s talk on accidental poisoning and such had given her the idea. 

Lotte gasped. “Herranjumala! Is she going to be ok!?” Usually Sucy’s potions accidents _ didn’t _ send her to the infirmary.

Diana looked in Lotte’s direction, but focused on a random point in space behind her. She could never look someone in the eye when lying. “She’ll be alright, but she’s quite shaken. Lukic told me that she would attend to her until she is fully recovered…. “

Kimberly resisted the urge to write this down. Injuries like this were worth headlines, but they weren’t always in good taste. “Aaaand how long is that going to be?” 

Diana hesitated. “A few days. Lukic told me as much.”

“Ehhh!?” Akko leaned back in shock. “A few days!?” It was normal for Sucy to get little burns from her chemicals, but one that put her out for days? That was downright unsettling.

Lotte knew that all too well. “I… I’m going to go see her.” She made to leave, briskly walking past the Yellow team, but Diana called after her. 

“Lotte, Wait!” The Cavendish’s voice was enough to make the timid, Finnish witch reconsider. “Lukic said Sucy should be left alone for now. She’s attending to Sucy in the meantime, and assured me that we do not need to worry.” Diana dialed down her volume and urgency, so as not to raise suspicion. 

Luckily for her, Amanda, in her booze borne myopia, managed to change the subject. “Don’t worry Lotte, I’m sure she’s fiiiiiine.” She strode over all confident like to Lotte’s side and wrapped an arm around her.

“B-But—” Lotte tried to resist, but she found her legs walking her back alongside Amanda to rejoin the group. “Nevermind….” Lotte sighed and tried to shoo away the resentment in her gut. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Hrmmm….” For Lotte’s and Sucy’s sake, Akko hoped that she was right. “Now I feel kinda bad. We’re going out to party while Sucy’s burnt up and bedridden.” 

Diana wouldn’t dare try and come up with a good excuse to get Akko to change her tune, but once again, Amanda served to keep everyone’s spirits high. “Oh come on, Akko, don’t get all mopey on my first day back!” She went from Lotte to Akko’s side and clapped her on the back. Her joviality was infectious. “Accidents like this happen all the time! And hey, Sucy would want us to enjoy ourselves rather than worry over something dumb like a botched potion.” Her ignorance and inclincation toward partying was truly a Nine-sent gift in Diana’s eyes. It allowed her to breathe easy and drop the tension building in her shoulders.

Akko sighed at first, “I guess your right.” But quickly hatched another of her heat of the moment ideas. “Maybe I can find her a nice mushroom to paint up in pride colors! I’m sure that’ll cheer her up!” The idea certainly cheered Akko up, at least.

“So uh,” Kimberly tried to get them somewhat back on track. “You guys had something planned for Wangari, right?” All that reminder did for Wangari was though was spike her blood pressure back up. 

“Y-Y-Yeah,” Wangari put her hands behind her back and leaned forward on the tips of her toes. “You said I was gonna… kiss someone….” Her eyes went from left to right, focusing a bit more on Akko, Diana, and Kimberly compared to the others, for reasons she was to embaressed to admit. “Sooooo who’s it gonna be?” At this point, that was the question that was killing her the most.

Her answer came in the form of Hannah, Barbara, and Amanda all reaching for things in their pockets or purses in the case of the two Blue team witches. The former two pulled out their lipstick and began to apply it, while the former got out what looked like chapstick and a spray bottle. Wangari’s arms fell to her side, and she herself nearly fell face forward from her lean. “Wait, I’m kissing them!?” 

Hannah gave Wangari a wink as she applied her lipstick. Barbara took a moment to actually reply. “If you want.”

“B-B-But Amanda—” Again, Wangari was caught off guard. Amanda was putting on lip balm, and then she sprayed a bit of breath freshner into her mouth. “All three of you?!” Wangari’s heart could be heard beating if you listened closely enough, and beads of sweat began to form on her brow. 

“M-Make that four.” Murmured Lotte as she stepped a little close.  _ “Sucy would want me to have fun.”  _ She told herself.  _ “And I’m a little curious myself….”  _ Lotte hadn’t actually ever kissed a girl either, though she had kissed a boy or two. 

Wangari put her hands over her chest. Everything was starting to feel light as a feather. “And don’t forget us!” Akko went back over to Diana’s side and squeezed her by the waist. “That’s five and six!” Diana managed to smile now that they’d moved on past that prior topic.

“F-F-Five….” Wangari got lost in Akko’s eyes. “And s-six…?” Then in Diana’s. Everything started to look fuzzy.

Joanna and Kimberly looked on, mouths agape, and spoke in unintented unison. “Holy shit.” Kimberly was starting to get jealous, but then Wangari actually started stumbling, and eventually fell backward, right into Kimberly and Joana’s arms. 

“Holy shit! Is she ok!?” Yelled Amanda, followed by everyone else similarly sounding off alarmed exclamations as everything went black for Wangari. 

* * *

_ A minute or so later….  _

“Wangari!” Akko’s voice was a bit distant, but it was starting clear up. “Wangari!” So too did Waingari’s vision. She in Joanna and Kimberlys arms, she presumed, with everyone slightly bent over to look down upon her in a circle. Akko was at the forefront, standing just over her, while Kimberly and Joanna stood over her from behind. 

“I think she’s c-coming to!” Lotte had her hands over her mouth, somewhat muffling her words. 

Wangari groaned. “Akko?” Her response was a tired whisper. “Diana?”

Diana had her wand wand raised and at the ready. “Wangari, are you feeling well?” It took a moment, but Wangari managed a nod and a thumbs up. Diana sighed at that and lowered her wand. She was thankful she didn’t have to use any healing magicks, but, “You really should be more careful.”

“Yeah Gari!” Grunted Kimberly. “We thought… hng!” Another grunt sounded her and Joana’s effort to get Wangari back onto her feet, which mercifully worked out for the better. “We thought you had a heart attack or something.”

Wangari’s legs felt weak, and her heart was still racing. “It was definitely close.” She panted, having bent over to hold herself up at the knees.

“Deep breaths, Wangari.” Joanna mimicked her own advice, hoping to help Wangari calm down. “In through the nose, out through the mouth.”

Wangari did as instructed for a few cycles before she managed to speak up more clearly. “You know, I get…. Phew… that you two….” She raised a weak finger up to Akko and Diana. “Wanted this to be a surprise…. So I… so I wouldn’t chicken out….” Hannah and Barbarba managed to help Wangari stand upright, and the latter handed over a water bottle, which Wangari happily chugged. After it was basically empty she waved it in Akko’s direction. “But seriously: Warn me next time something like this is gonna happen.” 

“Eheheh….” Akko smiled awkwardly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, shit, I feel like that just about proves it anyway.” Amanda put her hands in her coat pockets and rolled her shoulders. “There’s no way a straight girl faints when they get offered goods this fine.” Her cocksure grin was practically plastered on her face. 

“S-So is that… it?” Asked Lotte. “We’re not doing the thing?” She actually seemed a little dissapointed. 

“Perhaps it would be too much for Wangari.” Diana was most concerned about her fainting again. 

“Awww…. I used my best lipstick too!” Pouted Barbara as she joined Amanda on her left. 

Hannah scoffed and chuckled. “Babs, you have _all_ _night_ to get your money’s worth with us.” She took a moment to fix her hair before she joined Amanda on her right. 

All the while, Wangari continued to muster her falculties. After some hesitation, Akko approached her, Joanna, and Kimberly with a sad little smile. “I’m sorry if I went bit too overboard,” Which, admittedly, happened more often than not with Akko’s plans. “But it’s how I learned, or, I guess, accepted that I was a lesbian.” She held her hands behind her back and slightly bowed her head. “Also, I remembered you saying something a while back about you being more of a ‘doing’ kinda learner.” She swiveled her hips slowly, idly, channelling her embaressment into motion. “So if I’m like that too, and that’s how I learned…. Well… it makes sense that you’d learn that way too?”

Wangari’s eyes met Akko’s own for a short, yet long feeling while. Joanna eased the former by rubbing her shoulders, while Kimberly watched concernedly from the side. Tension rose, and then left, at least in part, as Wangari cracked a smile. “When did you hear me say that?” 

“You mentioned it in Professor Chariot’s class, I think.” It was a lecture on sooth-saying and precognition, which, as one might guess, is hard to grasp in a physical sense. “I’m pretty good at remembering weird little things like that…. Hehe” Wangari nodded and looked off at everyone present, lingering on each person for a few moments. “But uh! If you’re not going to kiss anyone, that’s ok! You don’t have to!” She urged, speaking quickly now. 

“Hey, hey!” Wangari reached out, surprising just about every present, and clasped a hand gently on Akko’s shoulder. “It’s… it’s ok!” The two stared into one another’s eyes for a few moments, sharing wordless understanding and empathy. “I think…. I think I wanna give it a try.” 

Akko gasped, “Really!? You will!?” As did Barbara and Lotte, while everyone’s elses eyebrows shot right up. 

“I will.” Wangari nodded firmly. “I’ve never run from the truth before, and I’m not going to do that now.” Kimberly and Joanna grinned their journalistic grins; wide and eager for discovery. 

Amanda clapped her hands together and quickly rubbed them. “Sounds like we got a game on our hands then!” Hannah and Barbara cheered as they got swept up in Amanda’s hype. 

“Everyone line uuuup!” Hannah reached an arm up and out and pointed down at a random spot on the floor beside her. She took after Amanda in some ways, and her party 

“Ooh! Me first!” Barbara, being the romantic that she was, couldn’t wait to be someone’s first sapphic kiss, so she slipped right under Hannah’s finger. 

“ _ Someone’s _ eager to kiss another girl.” Hannah hip-bumped her bookwormy girlfriend just before she got in line behind Barbara. 

“Look who’s talking.” Barbara looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out. 

Lotte’s blush grew deeper. “I-I’ll go third.” She said as she fell in line behind Hannah. Amanda wordlessly followed after, her hands stuffed in her pockets, and her face graced by the most cocky and alluring of grins. That left only Diana and Akko to decide their places in the order. They locked eyes with one another and gave each other a quick kiss of their own before Diana took her place behind Amanda, leaving Akko to be the sixth and final kissee, so to speak. 

With the line formed, and a night of pride related festivitaties awaiting them, the ball was put in Wangari’s court. She may have been smiling, and sure, she was much less tense than she was a few minutes ago, but a tender moment of empathy and understanding didn’t undo years of internalized phobias. Thus, she leaned over to Kimberly first, doing her best to suppress her most sincere and deepest of crushes. “Umm… quick question:” Wangari whispered, prompting Kimberly to lean her head forward. “How different is it when you kiss a girl?” 

Kimberly scrunched up her face as she tried to remember such fleeting sensory information. “I’d say it mostly depends on the person, not really the gender, if that makes sense.”

Wangari side eyed the patiently waiting line sporting Barbara at the front. The romantic bookworm offered a lurid wave, granted such confidence only by the myopia of pre-game wine. Wangari offered a far stiffer and subtler wave in turn as whispered her reply. “It probably does, but not to me.”

“Ok, so you’ve kissed someone before right?” Silence followed. Kimberly’s expression flattened. “You’re serious?” Wangari tugged on her collar and looked in the opposite direction of basically everyone. Kimberly pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered in Vietnamese,“Trời ơi….” Groaning all the while. “No wonder you became a nervous wreck over this!”

Wangari retorted hastily. “Oh come!? I bet plenty of people at this school haven’t had a kiss yet!” Honestly, it felt childish to have to even debate this.

“I know, I know.” Kimberly let her head loll backward. “Look,” She brought it back forward and closed her eyes holding her palms up flatly in defense. “All I’m saying is that it explains a lot. It’s not like I’m trying to judge you or anything or whatever….” 

Wangari sighed. “So what am I supposed to do then?” 

“Wing it!” 

“I can’t just  _ wing it _ !” 

“Why not!?”

“Because….” Wangari crossed her arms. “I don’t want it to suck for them!” 

Amanda leaned out from the line and waved her above her head.“Helllooooo! Any time in the next century please!” She got a faceful of Ansel’s flash for her trouble, courtesy of Joanna. “Ah! Christ! Who threw a flashbang!?” She had to actively ball her eyes to even start to see colors straight again. 

Just about everyone else fell into laughter as Amanda struggled. “Hah! Take your time, Wangari!” Said Joanna while she held up Ansel by her own cheek. “We’ll keep the peanut gallery in line.” Ansel happily closed its eye and fluttered its shutters. 

“Oh, what, am I the freakin’ bad guy for wanting to get this party started?”

“Yes.” Chided Diana. 

Now that Amanda could see, she turned herself sideways and waved a warning finger at Diana. “Don’t make me come back there cabbage-bitch.”

“What, so you can lose  _ yet another _ duel against me?” Diana flipped her hair in the most dramatic way possible, knowing all too well what she was doing. 

Amanda thumbed at her own chest. “Uhh, last time  _ I checked _ , we were even.”

“And last time I checked, you failed basic algebra.” Everyone started laughing again at that, Amanda included. 

The flamingo haired witch even offered a round of slow-applause. “You win round one, but the war hasn’t even fuckin’ started! We got  _ a whole night _ of drinking and jamming to get through!” 

“Guuuuuys!” Akko threw her arms up and over Diana’s shoulders, leaning against her in such a way that Diana nearly fell forward. “Have your dumb fake rivalry stuff laterrrr! We’re here for  _ Wangari _ remember?”

“Y-Yes….” By the Nine was Akko heavy, despite her short stature. “I r-remember….”

Amanda threw her arms outward, rolling her head from left to right. “Ahh, come on Akko! We’re just fuckin’ around!” 

Joanna mustered up a faux bit of anger. “Don’t make me sick Ansel on you again!” Ansel put on an anagry face of its own, and even seemed to growl in a strange, mechanical, squeaky kind of way. That put Amanda in her place quick; she wasn’t interested in developing cateracts when she was nineteen. When Amanda, Diana, and Akkoi finished putting herself back in an orderly line, Joanna sighed and let Ansel dangle around her neck. “Sorry about that, Wangari.”

Wangari waved it off. “No, no, it was funny.” She let the last bit of giggles escape her before continuing. “I needed that, I think.”

“You ready then?” Asked Kimberly. 

“No.” Answered Wangari. “But I won’t be more ready if wait any longer.” Thus, she stepped forward. 

Barbara was up first. “Feeling ok?”

Wangari nodded slowly, she was but mere inches from Barbara, and yet she knew nothing of what to do. “Yeah…. I mean, no, but, in a good way.” 

Barbara chuckled. She raised her hands up carefully, ensuring that Wangari saw her movements, and placed them upon Wangari’s shoulders. In that same motion, Barbara leaned in and up by a hair; Wangari was just a tad taller than her. Their lips met, and if it weren’t for the fact that Barbara closed her eyes, their gazes would have met too. Wangari stopped breathing, moving, and thinking all together. Her eyelids fluttered as if her brain’s operating system had just suffered a crash. Then it rebooted, albeit slowly. First came the sensation of touch. Barbara’s lips were  _ terribly _ soft. Taste came second; white wine flavored their kiss, overlayed by a strange sweetness that must have been the lipstick. Third and finally came smell, as Barbara’s oh-so-elegant and floral perfume filled Wangari’s airways. This was to say nothing of the beautiful storm of emotions that now swirled about her head. Butterflies in the stomach, fireworks in her heart, none of those typical metaphors equated to the electric, ecstatic, yet ephemeral feelings of want and passion that zipped and zapped about her cranium. It brought her arms and hands up to mimic Barbara’s grasp upon her back, and pushed her head just a little forward, giving her side of the kiss a little bit of “umph,” so to speak. 

Alas, it lasted but moments. The two eventually parted, though on Barbara’s terms. Wangari’s lips witlessly chased after hers, but after a half-second of having lost track of who she even was, Wangari blinked “awake,” and pulled back. Still, they held onto one another, with Barbara softly grinning while Wangari’s own lips tensed, opened, and closed without rhyme or reason; she was at a loss for  _ so many things _ , but words most of all. 

“So,” Barbara rubbed her right hand along Wangari’s shoulder in a soothing fashion. “How was it?”

Wangari’s uncertain lips slowly grew into an unbeatable smile. “Ajabu….” It was a blissful sort of expression; her eyes were just a hair away frrom being closed, her posture was eased, near limp, and her head relaxedly rocked side to side every now and then. All of that betrayed the thundering of her heart. 

Barbara knew that kind of look all too well. “I think we have our answer.” 

“Do we?” Asked Hannah in the most mischevious way possible. “I think this requires a little more  _ testing _ .” She strode over, her steps guided by pomp and circumstance, and her hands guided by playful rudeness as she pushed Barbara aside. 

“H-Hey!” Barbara’s pouting went unheard, for by the time she was even reacting to the little shove, Wangari and Hannah were already liplocked. She came more forcefully than green-dressed girlfriend, and her lips tasted of red wine rather than white wine. Her lips were soft, but her grip upon Wangari’s hips was anything but. She was certainly a bit more tipsy than Barbara, but in turn, she was far more intoxicating. Hannah was leaned up on the tips of her toes, bending Wangari back an inch or so. 

Wonderful as it was, Wangari felt this kiss ended far quicker than the last. Hannah pulled away as quick as she came, giving Wangari just a moment to sharply inhale as she wanted for air. “How was  _ that _ ?” 

Wangari managed a response through her panting. “Still amazing.” She stumbled back into Kimberly’s arms; they were expecting Wangari to maybe faint again, though luckily, she managed to keep conscious. “But Barbara… did it better.” She chuckled weakly. 

Barbara put her hands to her hips. “Hah!” 

While Hannah threw her fists down by her sides. “What!?”

“Get fucked, Hannah!” And Amanda remained an agent of chaos. 

Hannah returned her butch girlfriend’s kindness with a sneer. “Oh don’t even get me  _ started _ on how bad of a kisser _ you _ are!” 

“Wanna bet? Let’s test that right fuckin’ now!” Amanda brusquely shuffled past Lotte. The Finnish witch opened her mouth to retort, but sighed again; she was never good at being the assertive type. 

“W-Wait,” Wangari just barely got herself stood up again. “I need—” She was going to say that she needed a minute to catch her breath, but Amanda was on faster than even Hannah had been. She was rougher too, but admittedly, Wangari kinda liked that. Hannah’s roughness was almost lukewarm, as if she wasn’t sure whether to really commit either way. Amanda knew what she wanted however: Firstly was this kiss, secondly was more gin, because her lips were practically infused with the stuff it tasted so strongly, and thirdly was to prove Hannah wrong. 

Wangari fell into this kiss like a damsel in distress. She swooned backward, right into Amanda’s arms; she was being kissed as if she was on the dancefloor. Her heart fluttered at the sensation of Amanda’s grip upon the back of her head, even if it messed up her very carefully managed hairstyle. 

From the sidelines, Joanna laughed and slowly clapped her hands. “O mój boże!” 

Kimberly was just as jovial. “Woo! Get some, Gari!” She whistled in jest. Diana, Akko, and even Lotte afforded themselves a few laughs alongside the others, though Hannah and Barbara remained silent. The latter was grinning proudly on the beside the former, who was still sneering in Amanda’s direction with her arms cross about her chest. 

After a short while, Amanda spun Wangari up and around in what was certainly an improvised display of style, only to pull her back in and hold her close. Wangari was dizzy in far too many ways to count. “Hmmph.” Amanda’s cocksure grin only grew wider at Wangari’s befuddled expression. “Who’s the winner then?” Wangari couldn’t even imagine speaking right now, so she pointed instead. Her finger landed on Barbara, who poshly gestured witgh her right hand while keeping her left at her hip. 

“Naturally.”

“W-What!?” Amanda blinked twice and did a double take before she mustered up a more of that faux confidence of hers. “Well, s-surely I did better than Hannah, right.” Wangari groaned as if she were just waking up from a dream as she nodded. “Heheh! I still got it!” 

And with that, Amanda steadied Wangari before letting her stumble back into Kimberly and Joanna’s arms, only for Hannah to start “attacking” Amanda from behind. “Amandaaaa! Why do you have to be so meaaaan!” She was beating her fists with some force against Amanda’s back. 

Amanda flinched. “Ow! Ow! Hah! Hey! Watch it!” Her retorts were interspersed with bits of laughter. 

Barbara rolled her eyes and started pushing her two disastrous girlfriends away from the others. “Excuse them, they still don’t know how to settle argument’s like adults.” 

“I’ll… Ow! Show you an argument!” What did Amanda even mean by that? Amanda didn’t know, that was for sure. 

“No! I’ll show YOU an argument!” Hannah’s strikes only got heavier.

“Ow! Bitch!”

Barbara sighed. “Sure babes, sure….” It took some effort, but finally, the polycule was off and away down the hall, arguing about Nine knew what. 

Meanwhile, Wangari recovered from what she couldn’t deny was a heavenly experience. With Joanna’s help, in the form of some summoned water that she splashed harmlessly in Wangari’s face while Kimberly dried her off, Wangari managed to shake off the fetters on her heart and mind, affording her enough sense to stand without suffering from shakiness or dizziness. “Woah…. Alright…. I’m ok!” More than ok, in fact. 

Diana’s warm smile caught her eye. “Would you say you’ve ‘experimented’ enough then, Wangari?” Her question came with a gentle, inviting gesture. 

Wangari thought about, and honestly, she probably did. There was no denying it now:  _ “I really… REALLY like girls….”  _ But, why stop at Amanda? “I dunno…. This is… wow… it’s…” Wangari wiped her brow clear of any bits of water that Kimberly missed. “It’s really liberating.” 

“M-M-Mind if I… t-try then?” Lotte finally took center stage, after a silent minute or so of contemplating whether she should just bow out herself. Unlike the polycule, she seemed much more like Wangari did just a few kisses ago: She wanted to be approached, rather than be the one approaching. 

“Why not?” Luckily for Lotte, Wangari was actually curious on if it would feel different to intiate it rather than be initiated upon, and so she came forward and slowly reached for Lotte’s hands. The two found their fingers interlaced between each other in mere moments and were held together at their waists, as if they were brides at the altar. Their eyes met for but a moment before Lotte turned away. “You alright?” Whispered Wangari. 

“Yeah…” Lotte slowly brought her eyes to focus on Wangari again. “This would be my first kiss with a girl though.” She was even quieter than Wangari. 

“I’d say me too, but… well…. Eheh.” Lotte chuckled along with Wangari. Then silence overtook their ears, blocking out all of the arguing going on between the polycule in the background. A moment later and they were a few inches closer. Lotte gasped into the oh-so-gentle kiss. Neither witch knew how to describe the other’s taste, but both would readily admit that they  _ loved _ it. Truly, the bridal comparison with how they held their hands was apt for how they kissed too. It made it all the harder to end the advance on either part, but such was the way of things. As they parted, Lotte stepped a foot away and hid her face. Her cheeks were redder a tomato, and warmer than a space heater. Wangari covered her own mouth and spoke with concern. “W-Was it alright?” Lotte slowly nodded, though she couldn’t bear to look on Wangari. She was screaming internally in the best way possible. Wangari eventually smiled again and let her hands drop. “I thought it was good too.” 

“Hmhmhm. I think Wangari is enjoying herself.” Diana was beside Akko, holding her with an arm around her shoulder. 

Akko wiped away a tear. “That’s my girl.” The tear may have been real, but her rermarks were in jest. 

Lotte took her leave then, or at least, she went back to join the polycule. As she left she called back. “Hank you…!” Her thanks were muffled by the hands over her face. 

That left only Akko and Diana, and Wangari was eyeing them up lovingly. Both witches quickly found themselves on the other end of embaressment as they felt Wangari’s growing confidence. “Well… go get her, Diana!” Akko wasn’t up next oin the official order anyway, but she felt it nescessarry to give Diana a little love tap to push her forward. 

Diana yelped most uncharacteristically a she strode forward, carried by the momentum, and the heat of the moment. Though she quickly turned around. “A-Akko, wait!” Before Akko could even apologize or ask why she was being called for, Diana came to her and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. Akko blinked in surprise, though she quickly left her confusion in exchange for glee. 

“Hehe, thanks Diana.” 

Diana returned the smile and nodded before she turned about and faced Wangari. “Now then, shall we, Wangari?”

“Let’s.” Wangari came forward, but soon found herself talking to a hand.

“Ah-ah!” Diana tutted, putting on her most over-the-top, snooty, and posh attitude. “One does not simply kiss someone as noble as I.”

“Oh gimme a freakin’ break!” Yelled Amanda from down the hall. Kimberly, Akko, and Joanna stifled their giggles. 

“I’ll take no cricticisms from  _ rabble _ .” Countered Diana. 

Wangari wasn’t sure if Diana was actually kidding yet though, and so her confidence faltered. “S-So… what do I need to do?”

“When courting a lady, one should first take their hand.” Diana, in most royal fashion, held out her left hand and let her wrist hang limp. Wangari took it cautiously, only to have Diana lift her own and Wangari’s hand up to Wangari’s lips. Instinsctively, Wangari kissed it. “Perfect. Now, we bow.” Diana led the bow, and Wangari mimed it as best she could. The giggling only got worse from there on. “Good.” Both of them rose up, looking at each other with stupid grins. “Now, allow me….” Diana turned the gentle holding of hands into a firm grip. She brought her and Wangari’s arms up, making them strike a waltzing pose. From there, the two effortlessly kissed one another. It was short, sweet, but strangely controlled; in a good way. Diana felt safe to kiss, not that the others felt dangerous, but her presence, the way she handled Wangari, it made Wangari feel protected and cherished; the prize of the ball, so to speak. The two parted ways amicabbly, and with another bow, or a curtsy, in Diana’s case. “I hope you enjoyed that.”

Wangari smirked. “Likewise.” She did indeed enjoy it, but much like the other kisses, Wangari was starting to suspect that something was wrong. “So, Akko, you ready to call it?” She’d have to test it with Akko to be certain though. 

“Hell yeah!” Akko burst forward, giddy as could be, sliding past the already laughing Diana and practically jumping into Wangari’s arms. 

“H-Hey! Wait a—!” Too late. Akko already had her arms and legs wrapped about Wangari’s shoulders and waist respectively. If it weren’t for Kimberly, the two of them would’ve tumbled down to the ground. Wangari reflexively caught Akko and held her up as best she could while the two kissed. By comparison to the others, Akko was much more loving, kind of like a puppy, because she was kissing Wangari over, and over, and over again; her excitement was palpable, and it was enough to make Wangari almost laugh right into the kisses. “Just a—! A-Ak—! Haha!” Eventually, she did start laughing, and the two broke off in a fit of giggles and chortles. “Akko! What the heck!? Haha!” 

“W-What!? I was excited is all!” Akko stuck her tongue out. 

Diana sighed fondly. “Were you in my shoes, I’d say you’d grow used to it.” She took her place beside Akko and reached over to bring akko’s attention to Diana’s face with a finger upon her chin. The two grinned and kissed each other once more, again, with Akko offering more than just one. “It’s how she likes it.”

“Heh, clearly.” Wangari exhaled longingly. 

“So, do we have a verdict?” Kimberly hip bumped Wangari from her right, shattering a bit of her confidence, and reddening her cheeks once more; Kimberly was her  _ real _ crush, after all.

“I-I’d say so.” And that Kiss from Akko made that “realness” all too clear. Wangari had crushes on them, all of them, at some point; she found them attractive, lovely, dashing, beautiful, so on and so forth, but none of them were people she loved. Rather, none of them were people she  _ wanted _ to love and be loved by; none of them were the woman of her dreams. All that was left for Wangari to do would be to come out and make it official; to report the “breaking news,” as any honest journalist would: “I... guess that means I’m gay.” 

Her declaration brought on cheers and clapping, all followed by a big group hug. Amanda, Barbara, and Hannah were a little late to join, and they could be heard mumbling insults and arguments to one another all the while, but at least they managed to force some smiles when it counted. Amidst the hugs, claps, and cheers, Joanna remembered why she brought Ansel along. “Oh! Oh! Guys! Everyone get in a big group!” Her tone barely concealed her ravenous desire for photos, but thankfully, the group was all too happy to oblidge. “Say dżem!” 

“Dżem!” 

_ Click! Flash! _

It was the best start to a night of pride and partying the group could have, and it would only get better from there. Everyone enjoyed themselves, Wangari especially, as she learned about what it meant to have pride, why pride even existed, and how it was celebrated. There were drinks, arguments, jokes, and occassionally a few tears, both in joy and sadness, but in the end, none of them regreted it. Well, Wangari regretted one thing: She never would get around to admitting her crush on Kimberly; not for a few years at least. She’d bury it deep down in her soul, feeling that she’d rather preserve their beautiful friendship than risk losing it to a chance at love. Besides, Wangari was a woman of impeccable work ethic, and to date someone she worked alongside felt like a disservice to her readers and her duties as a witching journalist in training. 

_ “Maybe one day, _ ” Wangari thought to herself later that night.  _ “Maybe one day I’ll tell her.” _ And maybe one day she’d tell her parents, but that seemed like a trivial matter by comparison.

Those days of revelation would come, but they would be a strange ones indeed. Strange days lived by strange witches, in a stranger future; a future that four Fates would see turned against them. For now though, the witches of Luna Nova were safe. Safe, and proud. 

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End file.
